


gummy bears.

by beeluvd



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Emotional Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Friendship/Love, I STARTED THIS AS A WARM UP AND COULDNT STOP, I started this as a writing exercise but it snowballed into this, I think this is fluff, I tried not to emotionally damage them just like i do in all my others, I've never written fluff before so...lol i hope this doesn't suck, Male-Female Friendship, Post-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), THESE TWO ARE BEST FRIENDS IN RECOVERY IDGAF WHAT ANYONE ELSE SAYS, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings, although i WILL be writing a deep and emotional fic with these two, at some point, they are recovering on the island, theyre besties
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:07:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27327028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beeluvd/pseuds/beeluvd
Summary: “Would you believe it? One of the doctors absolutely loves these things and brought some from the mainland. Apparently he only eats one during his lunch break, but had accidentally brought two today and just gave it to me out of the blue!”The pale boy popped a small bear into his mouth. “Apparently these are a limited edition flavor too,” he said, completely swept up in wonder.Peko’s eyes glanced down towards the bag, seeing that they were matcha flavored.“Do you want one?”Nagito held the bag out towards her expectantly.—A certain someone interrupts Peko's reading break with some snacks.They try to learn what the word "equal" and "together" means.—Written about finding friends, for a friend.
Relationships: Komaeda Nagito & Pekoyama Peko
Comments: 6
Kudos: 32





	gummy bears.

**Author's Note:**

  * For [satanstrachea](https://archiveofourown.org/users/satanstrachea/gifts).



> heck if you're reading this ily.
> 
> I STARTED THIS AS A WARM UP AND I JUST NEVER STOPPED. HELP.
> 
> They are friends in my mind. I don't care.

The skies were a soft shade of pale blue today, littered with small puffs of clouds, forming various shapes and sizes above the grey haired girl's head. She sat in a small field of grass a bit ways away from the hospital on the real Jabberwock Island, situated on a small blanket provided by the nurses meant for sleeping. But its intended use could wait.

Peko lay cross legged on the grey fabric, several chapters deep into a new book that she had luckily found within the depths of the hospital. The Future Foundation didn’t exactly put a huge importance on what literature the island had to offer, just really met their basic needs and that was it, but Peko found that she spent a good amount of time on the island reading; so much so that she had read through every single book that the island had to offer within just a few weeks of waking up. Somehow, though, she’d found this stray one tucked into a drawer in a dresser inside a waiting room, and was immediately thrilled for some more mental stimulation.

So now here she sat, in a small patch of grass, reading some mystery novel about a murder on a train. She was just getting to a particularly intense part and was so submerged in what the story had to offer that she didn’t notice someone walk right up to her.

“That book any good?”

At the sound of a voice close to her, Peko dropped the said book in her startled state, and looked up to the person to whom the voice belonged.

A thin pale boy in hospital clothing and a large tuft of white hair stood over her, wearing an apologetic look on his face. “Ah, I’m sorry Peko. I just made you drop your book. I apologize, that was rather rude of me.”

“Oh, hello Nagito,” Peko adjusted her glasses and picked the book back up, which had miraculously landed on the exact page that she was still reading. _‘How lucky,’_ she thought.

“What are you doing here? I thought you had group therapy at this time?” 

Nagito shrugged. “I didn’t really feel like going today, but a nurse dragged me there anyway. But by the time we got there, it turned out that Mahiru had fallen ill with something, so it was cancelled altogether.” He gave a small laugh. “Not sure if that’s lucky or unlucky, if I’m being honest.”

Peko felt the corners of her mouth curl upwards slightly. “Ah, I see. I hope she is feeling better soon, then.”

Nagito nodded. “Afterwards though, I was supposed to go talk to another nurse, something about a team building exercise.” He paused, knitting his brows together. “But I told her that grouping me in with true Ultimates and calling us all a team was somewhat disrespectful to those paired up with me.”

Peko tilted her head to the side. “If I am not mistaken, you too are an Ultimate, correct?”

Nagito gave another small, hollow laugh. “My luck isn’t exactly what you’d consider a talent, just some poor excuse for one.” Peko ran her thumb along the page of her book, still thinking about how it had landed on the exact page she’d still been reading when she dropped it.

“Although, after I was supposed to go to that, a pipe in the hospital exploded and flooded an entire floor, which was the same floor I was supposed to go to. Isn’t that a funny coincidence?” 

Peko stared at him, not sure if she heard right. “I’m sorry, did you say a pipe exploded?” 

Nagito gave a friendly smile. “Nobody was hurt, thank goodness. It’s just a huge water leak. I’m sure it’ll be fixed by tonight. But it was on the same floor as my room.” He let out a dejected sigh. “Pretty unlucky of me, wouldn’t you say?”

She was never entirely sure how to respond to Nagito, but it was clear that he was just wandering around aimlessly, considering his room was probably flooded by now. Peko chewed the inside of her cheek for a moment, considering.

“Would you like to sit down?”

Nagito’s face exploded into an expression of surprise. “Sit down with you? Well, it would be an honor to spend time with the Ultimate Swordswoman!”

Peko gave a small huff, hoping she wouldn’t regret this.

Nagito lowered himself down so that he was sitting right next to the red eyed girl, his frame gaunt and bony. Despite the hospital feeding them relatively bland food, it was still a livable amount of nourishment; yet Nagito still remained slimmer than she assumed healthy, presumably from the years they spent as Ultimate Despairs.

She wasn’t entirely sure what prompted the invitation. They weren’t outstandingly close or anything, but she didn’t mind his company. After spending a small amount of time with him during their time on the island outside of the simulation, she found that he was far more nicer to be around than his digital counterpart. He still went on his rants about hope and talent and Ultimates and whatnot, but when he wasn’t actively trying to kill or sabotage them, he wasn’t an awful person to spend time with.

Unsure what to talk about but not minding his quiet companionship, Peko turned back to her book, the plot of the story still fresh in her mind. Nagito just closed his eyes, presumably lost in thought or just appreciating the pleasantly warm breeze that had, oddly enough, arrived at the same time he had.

After a few beats of silence, Peko watched out of the corner of her eye as Nagito reached into the pocket of the sweatpants the hospital had provided him and pulled out a small packet of gummy bears. She listened to the rustle of the cellophane as he tore the bag open.

“Where did you get those?”

The question escaped her mouth randomly and without second thought as curiosity overtook the best of her. They hadn’t had access to such small luxuries on this island, and Peko hardly considered gummy bears an essential that the Future Foundation was willing to go out of their way to provide for them. (Although she wouldn’t be surprised if Hiyoko had convinced them otherwise.) Nagito’s eyes lit up, eager to answer her question.

“Would you believe it? One of the doctors absolutely loves these things and brought some from the mainland. Apparently he only eats one during his lunch break, but had accidentally brought two today and just gave it to me out of the blue!” 

The pale boy popped a small bear into his mouth. “Apparently these are a limited edition flavor too,” he said, completely swept up in wonder.

Peko’s eyes glanced down towards the bag, seeing that they were matcha flavored.

“Do you want one?”

Nagito held the bag out towards her expectantly.

“Um…”

She stared at the bag, concentrated on her answer.

“Yes, I would.”

Slowly, she dipped her hand into the cellophane and pulled a pale green bear out of it, feeling the satisfying squishy surface in between her fingertips.

“They’re pretty good,” Nagito stated as he popped another into his mouth. 

Peko followed, placing the gummy on her tongue and biting down. It really was quite pleasant; not too bitter but not too sweet, the perfect taste that she always searched for but could rarely find. 

“They are,” she agreed, relishing the taste and texture of the little bear.

“Do you want another?”

He offered the bag to her again, a friendly look in his eyes.

Though she had not spent time with him long in the simulation, she remembered seeing his eyes hold a crazed look that was totally absent from the boy in front of her. The Nagito in the simulation had been driven by a mad sense of hope, willing to destroy himself to fulfill the hope that he decided was necessary for the world. The Nagito in front of her was delicate, like a thin branch in a storm that was close to snapping.

“Yes, thank you.” She reached out again, taking another.

Peko put the gummy in her mouth, savoring it once again. Tiny comforts like these were not often accessible; it was only fitting that Nagito would be the person to come across them.

They sat there for a while, Nagito staring at the leaves dancing in the warm wind, Peko occasionally looking up from her book when Nagito held the bag of gummies out to her and taking each one with a polite “thank you.” After a short time, the bag had been almost entirely depleted, save for a small few left over.

The boy put the small bag in between them, gesturing to it with his hands. “You finish it! An Ultimate such as yourself deserves the last and final ones.”

Peko shook her head.

“Thank you, but I cannot accept such generosity.”

Nagito tilted his head slightly.

“Why not?”

She frowned, furrowing her brows.

“Why don’t you have some more first?”

“Someone with such talent like you should be allowed to enjoy this.”

“You are the one that brought it.”

“I don’t deserve to finish it.”

“Neither do I.”

It seemed they had come to a stalemate. The two of them stared at each other, the other one refusing to look away.

Her frown deepened. “You are the one that provided the gummies, therefore you should be the one to finish them.”

Nagito laughed, putting his hands up in defense. “If I’m the one that got them, that it’s only fair that I share them with someone as incredible and naturally gifted as you.”

Peko continued to frown. Her face screwed up in concentration, an idea popping into her head. 

“Since we cannot agree as to which one of us will deplete the bag,”

She took out all of the gummies, 5 of them total, and laid them all neatly in the palm of her hand.

“We shall split them evenly.”

Nagito looked down at the well arranged gummies in Peko’s hand.

“But there are five of them. We can’t split them evenly.” He gave her a small, playfully haughty look that said _‘I told you so.'_ “So please, I insist, you take three and I’ll take two.”

Peko shook her head. “No, I still request that you take three and I take the two. It is only fair, since you have brought them.”

Nagito shook his head, a small look of disappointment crossing his face. “It would be tragic if someone as lowly as me took away even the smallest thing from someone like you. You deserve to have the extra gummy.”

Slightly fed up with the both of them at this point, Peko gave another sigh. “Well then, it seems we must come to a solution that meets both of our standards.”

She pondered her next few actions, deep in thought. After a beat, she took one gummy in her other hand and bit half of it off, the head and upper torso of a small green bear no longer present on the shape that was left over between her fingers.

As she chewed, she held the bottom half of the gummy out to the white haired boy in front of her, who wore a look of complete surprise on his face.

Suddenly, he broke out into another one of his small laughs. 

“Just as expected of an Ultimate to perfectly problem solve something like this.” He took the other half in between his fingers and popped it into his mouth, a smile resonating on his face.

Peko gestured to the 4 leftover gummies in her hand. “Now you take two and I will take the other two, and now we will be equal.”

_‘Equal…’_

The word, coming from her mouth, felt odd and out of place. But in this moment, it felt right.

Nagito hesitated a moment before gingerly taking 2 gummies that lay upright in the palm of Peko’s hand and placing them on his own, his smile not filled with Despair or insanity, but a hint of gratefulness.

She studied him now, taking in the full picture. He was concerningly skinny, and his face had an air of tiredness to it (but didn’t everyone’s at this point). His skin was so pale that it was almost see through, and she could easily spot his prominent collarbones that jutted out of his skin. But most notably, Nagito seemed far less nonsensical than the person she’d met in the simulation of the island; they had all changed somewhat, and he had adjusted to the outside world in his own way. The boy in front of her seemed somewhat exhausted and defeated and Peko couldn’t help but relate to that.

She popped 1 of her 2 gummies into her mouth and chewed thoughtfully as she watched him do the same, his eyes now fixed back on the trees that waved lazily in front of them. Secretly, she wondered what he did with his free time on the island; what did he do after therapy? How did he spend his nights? With his talent, she wondered if he went to sleep faster than the rest of them, even wondering if his talent kept the nightmares away. _‘Wouldn’t that be nice,’_ she thought, slightly envious if true.

His eye wandered back to her, then back down to her palm, then back up to her face expectantly. A quizzical look crossed Peko’s face, then she realized.

“Are you waiting for me to eat mine first?”

Nagito gave another sheepish laugh, wearing an expression of embarrassment. “Ah, so you caught me. I only think it’s fair for someone with a talent and problem solving skills such as yourself to take the last bite.”

Quickly, she found a loophole in his words. “But if I eat mine first, then _you_ would be having the last bite.”

His eyes widened in shock, then fell into another defeated expression. “Ahah. Wow! Of course someone of your caliber would be able to find a gap in my argument. As expected of the Ultimate Swordswoman.”

Peko shook her head slightly. “I have another idea," she said. Though she wasn't entirely sure how she had come to this conclusion, she knew what she wanted to do.

He raised his eyebrows. “What is it? I’ll listen to anything you have to say.”

Deciding not to dwell on that statement too much, Peko gave the lucky boy a small smile.

“Why don’t we do it together?”

The statement felt weird and new on Peko's tongue, but it also felt appropriate. Satisfying. _Right._

Again, his face broke into an expression that was not something she had seen in the digital version of him. It was fragile, delicate, like a glass teacup willing to break. His smile was not filled with Despair, or crazed ecstasy, or murderous delirium, but was so unmistakably genuine and true. In his face, she saw that he was not going to try to deny her wish of small unity, but that he sincerely appreciated her gesture. In that moment, Peko saw that Nagito was absolutely, undeniably human, and even people such as him deserved small gestures of kindness like these even if he wasn’t always willing to take them at first.

“Together.” He felt the word tumble off his tongue, rocky and unfamiliar but waiting to be explored.

"Together," she concluded, feeling out every syllable in her mouth, uncommon but still willing.

The word reverberated in both of their ears.

The two of them held their last gummies between their thumbs and index fingers.

“One,” Peko counted.

“Two,” Nagito responded.

“Three!” the both of them said in unison.

On the count of three, the two of them tossed their last gummy into their mouths.

As they chewed their last gummy, they both erupted into a bout of laughter that neither of them had expected or prepared, her chest filling with amusement and his eyes closed in this small moment of joy, the taste of matcha and gelatin still fresh on their tongues.

Rubbing a small tear of laughter from his eye, Nagito’s smile still remained on his face.

“You really are something, huh Peko?”

Regaining her composure, Peko took in a breath to steady herself.

“What do you mean?”

He gave a lighthearted chuckle and shook his head.

“Oh, nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

A look of serenity she had never seen on the boy’s tired before washed over his features, quiet and at peace. Without another word, he uncrossed his legs and lay them flat across the blanket before falling onto his back and landing on the covered grass with a small thud so that he was directly facing the sky.

Not entirely knowing why, Peko followed suit, her unbraided hair strewn around her head like a silver halo. Her book lay forgotten, still open on the same page. The both of them stared at the clouds, saying nothing, until Nagito pointed up.

“That one looks like a bird.”

Peko followed to where his finger was pointing to see a fluffy white cloud in a somewhat bird-like shape, and gave a tiny chuckle.

“That one looks like a heart.”

She pointed to a vaguely heart-shaped cloud with two puffs and a slightly pointed edge.

Nagito laughed. “That one looks like a tree,” he said, pointing to a thin cloud that puffed up near the top.

“That one looks like a house,” Peko said, pointing again.

“That one looks like Teruteru's head.”

Peko burst out into a fit of uncharacteristically loud laughter that neither of them had ever heard before, following Nagito’s pointer finger to see a cloud that did indeed look like Teruteru's outlandish pompadour that rested on top of his stout head.

Upon hearing Peko break her usually stoic composure, Nagito couldn’t help but feel an equally large laugh bubble up from his stomach, his body feeling warm and fuzzy as he joined her.

Finally catching her breath after a minute, Peko rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands, her cheeks still hurting from the corners of her mouth being stretched out for much longer than she’d ever been used to.

“Nagito you…”

She stared at the clouds, potential shapes beginning to form in her mind, her face still warm from laughter.

“You are...alright.”

Nagito wiped another tear of laughter from his left eye, not entirely understanding what she meant, but finally beginning to accepting the kindness that she worked so hard at for the second time today.

“You too, Peko.”

She smiled, and so did he.

_‘Together.’_

The word echoed through the both of their minds as they lay there side by side for the rest of the afternoon, pointing at clouds and finding small fragments of laughter in the world.

**Author's Note:**

> -I wanted to do a warm up and used my friend's fav character + my fav character and ended up with this
> 
> -have a headcannon that Peko reads a LOT during her time in recovery. Also the book she was reading was Murder on the Orient Express
> 
> -it's all a big metaphor (oOoOoOo) for learning how to just be together and present and human and learning (in small steps) how to see other people as equals rather than constantly berating urself to be below others bc they both have problems with that 
> 
> -Peko trying to show kindness on her own terms rather out of obligation + Nagito trying to learn how to accept kindness wooo we love a synergetic dynamic
> 
> -Peko never laughs like that and did it for the first time bc of Nagito's luck...yea
> 
> -tried not to make this deeply emotional (like I ALWAYS end up doing) bc I like. never write fluff. so i hope this was cute <3
> 
> -I'll probably write an emotional fic w these two with that same concept, but I just wanted to try something cute tn <3


End file.
